The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on February 8 announced the start of a preliminary investigation into a complaint by a Filipino lawyer and two lawmakers which accuse President Rodrigo Duterte and his government of crimes against humanity.

The Myanmar government announced on May 31 that it will establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations and related issues following attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Myanmar security posts in August last year.

The February 17th meeting was the third between Aung San Suu Kyi and military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing since the National League for Democracy (NLD)'s electoral victory in November last year.

PRESIDENT Thein Sein, who is a former military leader himself, declared a three-month state of emergency in the Kokang self-administered zone in the northern part of Shan state, which shares border with China's Yunnan province.